Who Wins And Who Loses As Airports Turn Into Malls

A waiter delivers plates of fresh sushi at Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi in Terminal 2 of O’Hare International Airport in December 2012.
A waiter delivers plates of fresh sushi at Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi in Terminal 2 of O'Hare International Airport in December 2012. Getting stranded at an airport once meant camping on the floor and enduring hours of boredom in a kind of travel purgatory with nothing to eat but fast food. Tough economic times are helping drive airports to make amends and transform terminals with a bit of bliss: spas, yoga studios, luxury shopping and restaurant menus crafted by celebrity chefs. M. Spencer Green / Associated Press
A waiter delivers plates of fresh sushi at Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi in Terminal 2 of O’Hare International Airport in December 2012.
A waiter delivers plates of fresh sushi at Wicker Park Seafood & Sushi in Terminal 2 of O'Hare International Airport in December 2012. Getting stranded at an airport once meant camping on the floor and enduring hours of boredom in a kind of travel purgatory with nothing to eat but fast food. Tough economic times are helping drive airports to make amends and transform terminals with a bit of bliss: spas, yoga studios, luxury shopping and restaurant menus crafted by celebrity chefs. M. Spencer Green / Associated Press

Who Wins And Who Loses As Airports Turn Into Malls

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According to AAA, 3.7 million Americans will be flying to their destinations over this Thanksgiving holiday. If you’re one of them, you may in store for some changes, depending on where you’re headed. 

That’s because in recent years airports have been squeezing more retail space onto their floor plans. 

Morning Shift talks to Mark Rosenbaum, professor of retail marketing at Northern Illinois University, about how having more high-end retail and dining is affecting the traveler experience at the nation’s airports.